This Valentine’s Day my little sister and I went for a special lunch at Skylon, the stunning restaurant in the Royal Festival Hall. As keen musicians we have both performed on the main stage in youth choirs and orchestras, I have never even noticed a restaurant here before. It was a revelation to discover Skylon.

The dining room is glorious – bright and sophisticated. We were seated at one of the loveliest tables, with a panoramic view of the Thames. The table positioning was so good we could see miles of the London skyline, I could imagine the other guests were very envious of our superior viewpoint! Our waiter was bubbly and charming, eager to please and ensure we have the best experience at Skylon. The other staff seemed more austere, reluctant to smile in case it ruin the calm of the restaurant.

A man came round with a trolley, like they do in Chinatown, but on this silver trolley different bottles of champagne sat chilled, ready to be served to parched customers. We politely declined in favour of the cocktail list, which came highly recommended by several friends. This lived up to expectations and more… always preferring to try the specials I opted for the ‘Bartender’s Choice’ Imperial Martini (Legend of Kremlin vodka shaken with Crème de Pommes, maple syrup, fresh apple and sage leaves, served up straight) – it was honestly one of the most delicious cocktails I have ever tried, sweet, tangy and very pure… it was the prettiest pale moss green colour, a lone sage leaf floating romantically on the surface. My sister loved her tropical mocktail, (a child friendly drink but equally delicious to my mature taste buds) made from fresh apple and peach, shaken with lychee juice and coconut cream served long over crushed ice.

The lunch food menu, titled ‘Market Menu’ is clear and succinct with a varied selection of seasonal dishes. To start we ordered the Pumpkin Veloute with truffle ricotta and pine nuts and the Tart Fin of beetroot, crumbled goats cheese and wafer thin croutons. The tart was light and delicious, the ideal starter; the cheese mild and crumbly, the flavour contrasting nicely with the sweet soft beetroot, salty pastry and vinegary dressing. My sister almost licked the bowl, she enjoyed her Pumpkin Veloute so much! It was intensely flavoured and incredibly wholesome with no cream, just pumpkin and some careful seasoning.

For mains, we had more difficulty choosing as everything sounded so tempting. Eventually, after consulting our waiter, we chose the Risotto of Celeriac with baby leaves salad and truffle dressing and the Special Fillet of Beef, with truffle pomme puree and béarnaise sauce. As you can see truffle is a recurring motif of the menu. Our mains arrived promptly, and after the tasty starter, we were excited about the main event! The dishes did not disappoint, my beef was divine, melt in the mouth meat with a divine crispy caramelised edge. The creamy truffle potato mash was a lovely accompaniment though didn’t look that appealing; fine beans added a bit of greenery I was thankful for. The risotto seemed to be a roaring success across the table, my sister swooning over it. It was the perfect vegetarian dish for spring.

Scanning the restaurant, we could see various diners receiving their special little petit fours, beautiful circular stands with little sweets, we rushed through pudding eager to receive our treats. An avid fan of pannacotta I chose the Elderflower Jelly, lemon grass Pannacotta and blueberries; it arrived stylishly layered in a glass, an interesting mix of flavours though there were a few too many blueberries and not enough creamy pannacotta. For my sister, our waiter kindly arranged a chocolate dessert from the evening menu, an amazing chocolate and caramel torte mousse, velvety and delicious.

At last it was time for our petite fours: homemade vanilla marshmallow, berry jelly, chocolate and caramel truffle – the perfect accompaniment to our fresh mint tea. Smart but not ostentatious, delicious and classy, our meal at Skylon was the perfect Valentine’s lunch.

Visit the website to book here.